Valley still plays key role in aviation's legacy at 105

Valley Press ^ | Thursday, December 25, 2008 | ALLISON GATLIN

[BenLurkin]

From the nation's first jet aircraft to the first to break the sound barrier; from the first spacecraft to make a runway landing to the first privately funded spacecraft to rocket out of the atmosphere, the region's aerospace legacy tells the story of the Jet Age and the Space Age.

The Valley's long tradition of striving to extend the cutting edge of aerospace continues today, from the defense industry giants at Air Force Plant 42 to the heirs of the "Right Stuff" pilots at Edwards Air Force Base to the paradigm-busting space entrepreneurs at Mojave Air and Space Port.

With their efforts, the list of aerospace milestones the Valley can claim continues to grow.

Military hardware

In the more traditional aviation sphere, the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, combined with the defense contractors located down the highway at Plant 42 in Palmdale, carry the torch of advancing new weapons systems for the nation.

Both are instrumental in the development of so-called "fifth-generation" fighters, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. These aircraft employ stealth and sophisticated avionics - which give the pilots an unprecedented "God's-eye-view" of the battlefield - to gain an unfair advantage over enemy forces.

The F-22 joined the Air Force ranks in 2005 after extensive testing at Edwards which continues there today.

It will soon be joined by the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, part of a multiservice, multinational fighter program expected to be part of the Edwards landscape for years to come.

Portions of those fighters emerge from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Northrop Grumman Corp. at Plant 42 in Palmdale.

[Oztrich Boy]

[Brad’s Gramma]

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